JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX Transportation commended Richard J. Spatafore, division engineer,Jacksonville, for receiving the 2010 Association of American Railroads’ John H. Chafee Environmental Excellence Award.
CSX nominated Spatafore for the award, named for the late Rhode Island senator who devoted his long career in public service to protecting the environment and who understood the important environmental advantages of rail.
“Richard Spatafore personifies CSX’s long-standing commitment to environmental stewardship,” said Skip Elliott, vice president public safety and environment for CSX. “His innovative resource re-use program is a model of how every CSX employee can make a difference in protecting our environment while enhancing CSX’s efficiency.”
Spatafore, a 36-year veteran of CSX, developed the “No Spike Left Behind” program, a successful, first-of-its-kind environmental business model for CSX. The innovative program involves evaluating all rail yards and CSX right of way to identify accumulated on-track material, equipment, and other railroad-related materials. Materials are then tagged as appropriate for re-use or recycling.
Additionally, Spatafore oversaw the design and construction of new environmentally safe storage centers within designated rail yards to serve as centralized material storage and usage hubs. Under his leadership, Spatafore’s team achieved 100 percent compliance with federal, state, and local environmental regulations.
